Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-10-30
THE ANDES CONDORS.
AN OLD NBW YORKER TELLS OF THE GRRAT
BIRDS
How They Stampede Herds Of Cattle on the Plains
How They Run Down Live Steers and DsVuur
thsStll Bleeding CarcaSSes
Chasing Years Ago.


Chasing Years Ago.
If the governments OF Chill and of other
South American countries had paid
bounty of S. head for dead condors thirty
years ago, as understand they do now,"
said the representative of a New York
leather house, II could have made for
tune in the course Of a few months, and
had heap of fun doing it. Condors were
plenty all along the Gillian coast, at any
rate, as far back as 1851, ard during the
few months that was in that country
found out good deal about them, and
could have made 800 day.
THE appearance of a hawk circliug
about in the air over poultry yard will
not fill brood of chickens with more ter
ror and excitement than will the shadow
of a condor on the wing carry to herd of
cattle feeding on aChiliau plain, as the
great vulture sweeps down from his eyre
IN the painless Andes to seize his prey.
| The condor, unlike other members of the
vulture family, doesn't wait for something
or somebodyto die in order that he may
have his dinner, but if he don't find a
ready-made carcass convenient on the
plain when he is hungry he proceeds at
once to provide the carcase him
self. The herds of cattle that
pasture on the undulating plains
lying between the impenetrable wall of
the Andes and the Pacifc's white-crested
line of surf offer the condor unrivalled
facilities for carcass making, and, as he is
in state of chronic hunger, this king of
the teathered tribe levies constant tribute
on the grazing herds. Thirty years ago it
was no uncommon sight to see thousand
of these winged freebOoters lowering over
the plains, each one ravenous and deter
mined as q dinner robbcr from the scam
pering terror.stricken believing herds
below. The condor was then, as he is now
in less degree, the greatest enemy the
stocker raiser in that portion of South
America had to contend with, and it was
his persistent and destructive raids on
grazing cOttle that made him an outlaw
with price sn his head, to be relentlessly
handicapped craters where he makes his
| home.
STAMPEDED BY CONDORS.
"The little village where / was staying
| in Chill lay at the very base OF the Andes,
with about mile Of plain stretching away
TO the ocean. At sunrise on the first
morning WAS in the place awakened by
great cOmmotiOn among the populace.
Springing from the palm mattress on
which had been sleeping looked out of
the low window of my apartment. Men,
women and children were running through
the narrow streets yelling wildly, and men
on horseback dashed away across the plain,
in which direction the excited mob Of
villagers was tending. A roar as though a
hurricane were passing came up from
the plain, and there was tremor
in the earth that alarmed me. | was sure
that we were about TO be shaken up by an
earthquake, and hastily throwing on my
clothes hurried from the house, which
seemed entirely deserted. Two or three
men, who were apparently unmOved by
whatever it was that had excited the rest
of the village, lounged about the door.
Somewhat treasured by the calmness and
indifference of these men. inquired of
them what the trouble was, and was told
that it was nothing but the condors, which
had come down that morning in large
force from the mountains and were
even then engaged in selecting cat
tie from the village herd. Looking across
the plain I discovered for the first time
that great cloud of dust covered it for
wide area, from which came the roar and
the tremOr that had alarmed me. The
cloud and the roar and the tremOr were
made by the herd dashing furiously about
on the plain, fleeing in terror before the
pursuit of the condors. | could see sew
eral borsemen plunging along close to the
edge of the rolling cloud, and occasionally
the dust would lift on one side or the
other, and the dimlY outlined forms
of fleeing cattle could be seen,
while in and out Of the vol
ume of dust, CirCling over It like still
darker clouds, darting down into its depths
or lowering along its edge, the great con-
doris appeared and disappeared in n man.
ner that, to me, was more than startling
The scene was an exciting one, and quick
ly saddling nv horse, which was quartered
in the small inn yard, | dashed away
across the plain to enjoy close view of
the disturbance and to see what its out
come wauld be, passing on my way iabber-
ing and shouting groups of villagers hur-
rying on foot towards the flying cloud OF
dust, in which were hidden the common
property OF the place and its ravenous and
determined foe
AS rode up within a dozen rods of
the stampeded cattle, one of the herd burst
suddenly from the dense volume of dust
Four immense condors followed it and,
swooping down upon it, tore at its flesh
with their great claws and punctured and
lacerated it with their strong beaks. The
ANIMALS eyes were blOOdshot and were
wild with terror. Its bellowings were ter
rible 10 hear 1t dashed its tail in agony
against its torn and bleeding sides and
rushed aimlessly in all directions,
while the huge vultures beat
against it and slashed and ripped
it with beak and claws. While /
galloped along and watched this sickening
mutiation of the helpless steer the herd
hashed on, and every condor that was fol-